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Smart battery chargers

Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: The Briny Bar
Forum Description: The place for general chat on saltwater fishing!
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=140138
Printed Date: 27 May 2026 at 11:50am


Topic: Smart battery chargers
Posted By: Mc Tool
Subject: Smart battery chargers
Date Posted: 20 May 2026 at 9:14pm
Can anyone recommend a good one , just for quad , car and boat . 12v from 6ah sealed , a 18ah agm ( motobat) to my 100ah marine lead acid boat battery .
I dont have any life-po4 batteries ...yet but Id probly get a dedicated charger for that ( possibly get about 100ah for my electric outboard ).
Just that there are heaps out there and I have already been burnt buy ali express charger ....I mean it was not totally useless ......it did a wonderful job of stopping my rubbish tin from levitating off the workshop floor and floating away .😁

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I wish I was young again .... Id be heaps smarter than this time


Replies:
Posted By: strx7
Date Posted: 21 May 2026 at 11:31am
You will need to fork out a bit of $$ as to charge the 100ah you need something with 8+ amps otherwise the batteries can have some issues.

I managed to pick up a CTEK CS One from PB-Tech when they had them on clearance for around $230

Posted By: SaltyC
Date Posted: 21 May 2026 at 4:06pm
Recommend CTek as well. Very good multistage chargers

Posted By: Mc Tool
Date Posted: 21 May 2026 at 9:44pm
Yeah they are pricey alright ....looking around 400 bucks for the ctek.
Im looking at a Victron blue IP65 smart charger , 12v 15a for $250. It has good reviews and does the lifepo4 too, just want to ph the suppliers 0800 tomorrow before buying to confirm that it will do smaller batteries (6ah) too.
Thanks for the tips .....I do like the ctek just not the price but as above I have already binned one bad buy.

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I wish I was young again .... Id be heaps smarter than this time

Posted By: Fish Addict
Date Posted: 21 May 2026 at 10:22pm
A little off topic but the following was on a wall poster in an Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) office I worked in many, many years ago.
The authenticity of the second paragraph being a quote from Ruskin is questionable however the message is clear.

The Lowest Quote

“It’s unwise to pay too much, but it is worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money – that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do.

The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot – it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest quote, it is well to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better.”

John Ruskin (1819 – 1900). 

Posted By: Mc Tool
Date Posted: 22 May 2026 at 7:23am
Yeah thats all good , but what battery charger did he end up buying ?😆😆.
I guess its hard to know for sure but I think the ctek is over priced ....right from the time I 1st saw one years ago ....which is why I never bought one. I have no doubt they are a good thing and sometimes that makes it the thing to go for ....peace of mind an all that 🙂
The Aliexpress one was about 40 bucks so I pretty much got what I deserved there.
My present charger is probly 30 years old and has always done the job but batteries are getting expensive and thusly worth looking after a bit better than just hooking them up to the ole "force feed " charger.
Im gunna ring the Victron guy coz tbh Im getting confused after lookin at so many different options .

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I wish I was young again .... Id be heaps smarter than this time

Posted By: Mc Tool
Date Posted: 22 May 2026 at 5:40pm
I went for the Victron Blue smart IP22 12v 15a with 3 outputs , (max 15a across any of 1 - 3 outputs ) $249 .
Thanks for your input guys 🙂🙂🙂

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I wish I was young again .... Id be heaps smarter than this time


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